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New AusAID Grant to Bolster PTF Anti-Corruption Knowledge Sharing in the Philippines

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) has initiated a grant of $200,000 to PTF to broaden the impact of PTF’s anti-corruption work in the Philippines. Since 2003 PTF has been supporting the anti-corruption work of CSOs in the country. To date, working in close partnership with the Coalition Against Corruption of the Makati Business Club (CAC/MBC) PTF has supported 22 projects with technical assistance and funding of over $600,000.

The Philippines is home to high rates of corruption, ranking 138 out of 178 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. Research has shown that as much as 40 percent of public resources are squandered due to corruption.

The AusAID grant will provide funding for 4-6 new small projects managed by PTF in conjunction with local CSO counterparts constructively engaging with government agencies. The program will also bolster knowledge sharing efforts, providing funds to cultivate and disseminate best practices from PTF’s supported projects over nearly a decade and using media and social media to spread the lessons to the wider civil society community, other government agencies, and the business sector.

There is an obvious efficiency argument for knowledge sharing: knowing what works and what does not, sharing monitoring tools and training materials are all beneficial. But the benefits of knowledge sharing go beyond efficiency considerations. For example, when one government department has developed constructive relationships with civil society and the private sector, sharing this experience with other parts of the government would be most useful.

The program was initiated in June and will be implemented over 24 months.